


Christmas play

by DangerRollins



Category: Harry Styles - Fandom
Genre: Christmas, F/M, Fluff, One Direction One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-09
Updated: 2017-12-09
Packaged: 2019-02-12 13:54:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,529
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12960753
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DangerRollins/pseuds/DangerRollins
Summary: Harry has been waiting for months to see his daughter perform in the annual Christmas play, but soon discovers that she hates the stage, and now, because of him, Christmas.





	Christmas play

Harry had been rushing around like a mad man all morning trying to make sure that absolutely everything was perfect. He'd planned every second of that day--Every single second. The Sunday started with everyone waking up at 7AM. He and Y/N cooked a nice breakfast--Alright fine, Y/N actually cooked and he stood around making puns until she asked him to chop something for her or set up the table. It was Annalise's favorite breakfast this morning, not only because it was her turn to pick what they ate, but also because today was her day and Harry was determined to make it special for her. Pancakes, bacon, waffles, bagels, croissants--Did this child have a bread kink or something? Y/N was convinced that she did--the cheesiest eggs that could possibly be eaten without causing lifelong constipation, yogurt, strawberries, and most importantly of all, a cinnamon roll and a side of apple juice, because if there was no cinnamon roll and no apple juice then their might as well be no breakfast at all, or so Anna had explained to them many times before. Y/N thought it was more than a bit over the top, and considering she was the one cooking, she was ready and willing to say no to making the extravagant breakfast, but between Anna's puppy dog eyes and Harry's constant passive aggressiveness when he was angry, how could she refuse? Seriously. How?

So she cooked and they ate, Anna chowing down on her meal quiet as a mouse and Harry talking more than anyone should be talking at such an early hour, and by the time everything had been cooked, eaten, and cleaned it was 9AM. After such a massive breakfast all Anna wanted to do was go back to sleep. It was Sunday after all, and everyone knows that being even the slightest bit productive on a Sunday is a straight up sin, but Harry wasn't listening to that, no, not today.

No ten-year-old child wants to go over the lines to some stupid Christmas play that they don't even want to be in while being dragged by their wildly famous dad through an overly festive, overly crowded shop in the mall at 10AM on a Sunday morning, but here they are.

"HARRY, I LOVE YOU!" Shouted a girl who appeared to be in her early twenties. Harry looked up for only a moment, staring past his security guard and straight at the girl, sent her a smile and a wave and blew her a kiss, and then said to Anna, "You'll want to put some more feeling into the line before the music starts playing. I'm getting Gretchen Weiner in the Christmas performance feels when I should be getting Cady Heron in the Christmas play feels."

"First of all daddy, this has nothing to do with mean girls. Second of all, can't we go over these a different time? It's a bit crazy in here..." She muttered as she looked around the room. People were screaming and trying to get to Harry, although he wasn't concerned with it because he was surrounded by security--He always had loads of them follow him around whenever he was out with Anna or Y/N-- And besides, nothing was going to distract him from helping his little girl get all of her lines right for the play. "We're on a tight schedule love, you've got to practice them now or you won't get to at all."

"Why didn't you do your Christmas shopping weeks ago? Or, you know, any time that wasn't Christmas eve?" She whined. He narrowed his eyes at her as he eyed a nearby necklace that he thought Y/N might like. "I did go shopping weeks ago. I got everyone but your mum something. You know what it's like shopping for her. She never says what she wants."

"Yes she does, she just doesn't say it out loud."

"What?"

"All this year she's been wanting one of those really fancy looking, custom made, silk robes that her friend, ugh-" She snapped her fingers together as she tried to think of the name of her mother's friend. "Ugh, Ivory?" She nodded to herself. "Ivory--Wears all the time. She stares at them all the time and you can tell she wants one. She's been putting off getting one, but she wants one really bad."

"She has talked about that a lot." Harry mumbled. He hadn't really thought of it until now. "I can definitely get that for her."

"You most certainly cannot." Anna huffed. "I got that for her three weeks ago."

"Those things are expensive." Harry gasped."You're not exactly great at saving your money. How'd you manage to get that for her?"

"Oh," She blushed. "You always drop money on the floor and--You know, mum does that thing where she puts it in that little jar, the jar of shame. To show you just how much you drop. She thinks you get it out, but...There's also all the money she gives me so I can buy that nasty ice cream they sell in the cafeteria at school."

"You little thief." Harry hissed. "You can't just-"

"I know it's wrong, but it's for a great cause! I only steal from mummy to make her happy! And I only steal from you to make her happy as well. Me taking your money is making her happy, so really, you're the one making her happy. Besides, I don't wanna be the person who waits til Christmas Eve just to get a gift- at least this way I'm not a disappointment...Not that you are!"

"Let's just get back to your lines." He grumbled through clenched teeth.

By 12PM Anna was already worn out. Roaming around a buzzing mall and screaming your lines over a bunch of excited, screaming fans, is not an easy task, but she'd managed. Now, here she was, back at home and feeling even more overwhelmed than she was before. Both her grandmothers were smothering her in hugs and kisses, her little twin cousins were yanking at the red, glittery skirt Harry had begged her to wear to 'Get herself into the Christmas spirit even more.', Christmas music was blasting through the speakers in their living room, there were about twenty different aromas filling the air as her mum, Aunts, Uncles and dad were in the kitchen, all working on making what would (hopefully) be a delicious Christmas dinner for tomorrow. The telly was on as well, almost as loud as the radio as it played a boring Christmas movie that she'd seen twelve times already, just this year alone. On top of all that, her nerves were finally starting to set in.

Well, she'd been nervous all day and all week and even all month, really, but now there was no way she could brush it off. The play was in only a few hours, and she was in it for sure, and there was no way to get out. She'd really be in front of a large crowd, jumping around a stage in a pretty Christmas dress and a full face of makeup, which in her opinion made her look more like her mother and a pageant queen and she was at least a little excited about that, trying to remember her lines as she had hundreds of eyes on her.

There was no faking getting sick, there was no avoiding her dad to avoid the conversation of how her memorizing her lines was going, there was no pretending it wasn't happening--There was no escape.

Her stomach bubbled and her face paled as she thought about it, but she couldn't focus on her nerves for long as she was soon called into the kitchen to assist her family with the food.

When 3PM came around, Harry was bouncing around going on about absolutely nothing, the feeling of excitement radiating from him, and Anna was trying not to start bawling in front of him and everyone else. She hadn't really said much about the play all day, not unless someone started speaking to her about it themselves, because every time she thought of it she just wanted to run to her room and cry.

She was really regretting agreeing to do the play so easily. The conversation had come out of nowhere, her father had seemed so excited, and she hadn't really been paying attention as she'd been busy watching Frozen.

"Annalise!" He'd yelled loudly. She'd perked up immediately upon hearing him say her full first name--Usually, he only called her Anna. She thought she'd done something bad at first, but when he entered the living room with a large smile on his face, she realized that she had nothing to worry about and gave him a half smile as a greeting before turning back to watch her movie.

"I've got exciting news!" He announced. "I don't know how to tell you this story without dragging on-" He wouldn't tell her the story without dragging on. "-When I was a kid, in my hometown we used to have quite a few Christmas plays. It was a way to get people into the Christmas spirit and bring everyone together and there were several throughout the month-The biggest one was the Christmas Eve play! Everyone brings yummy dishes to eat before and during the play- It's a time to let all the kids get together and let the adults catch up with one another- A great community gathering!" He rushed. "Only, some years ago we kind of...Stopped. Just stopped. I guess it was a bit of a hassle-But it's back!" He skipped to the important part, unable to hold his excitement in. "That's great, daddy." Anna nodded as her eyes grew bigger upon seeing Olaf melting.

"Yes, it is! Now, Christmas is in three months and I know it's early to be bringing it up, but we always started preparing early. I mean obviously, it's a play, so, you kind of have to because of all the lines you've got to memorize and the fittings you have to do for the costumes and--You know!"

"Yeah...Are you gonna be in it?" She asked.

"No, silly!" He chuckled as he sat on the floor beside her. "The Christmas Eve play is always performed by kids. I was thinking that maybe you might wanna be in it?"

"Um-"

"Hear me out! I think this would be great for you, really! It'd get you out of your comfort zone, you'd make lots of friends, you'd get to see how things work behind the scenes of a production, being on stage is super fun and we'd get to spend lots of time together because I'll be helping you with your lines and everything--sounds good, yeah?"

"Sounds kind of...Fun?" She muttered. She did want to spend more time with him. He'd just stopped touring until January and this would be the perfect time for them to bond. She loved being around her dad and he was so talented, it was amazing to see.

"I know! I got you a script and everything already, you can look it over and see if you like the story! You can audition for whatever role you want, but I do think you'd be perfect as the lead character." He winked.

"You're only saying that cause I'm your kid." She'd laughed.

"Yes, but, really, maybe you will actually get that part!"

She'd agreed relatively quickly and he'd jumped up, letting out an excited shout before kissing her cheek and running off to tell Y/N the great news. Anna was happy to be getting back to her movie, and she didn't think much else of the encounter until a week or so later when he asked her about it again.

Long story short, she studied the lines, she got a big part, although not the lead, and now she was regretting her entire ten-year long existence.

"Anna!" Harry shouted as he sat her down on the couch next to him. "We're driving to the theater in an hour, and you need to eat again! Nothing too heavy, love, don't want you getting sick. Here's some fruit!" He grinned.

"Thanks." She sighed, sending him a small smile. He nodded quickly before pulling himself off the couch again to busy himself with something else.

When 5PM came, she was in costume, in her chair getting her makeup done, and barely breathing as she listened to the already loud audience shuffling in. Her senses were overloaded for what must’ve been the fiftieth time that day.

“You look beautiful, darling.” Y/N complimented, sending her daughter a large smile. Anna grinned…winced(?) back and gave her a thumbs up before watching her walk towards out of the small room, probably to take a seat in the audience.

Anna watched as her dad pranced over to her wearing a large smile. He was holding a bouquet of flowers that she hoped wasn’t for her because they always made her sneeze, and he knew that…Only he didn’t. She told him every time they were around flowers that she didn’t like them because they made her sneeze, so when he finally made his way over to her and held the bouquet out for her to take, she sucked in a breath, furrowed her brows, let out a sneeze, and then glared at him. Her little fists balled and she bit her lip as she tried not to say anything that would get her into trouble, but she was angry, angrier than she’d probably ever been, and she just wanted to make sure he knew that.

“Can I have a moment with my dad?” She grumbled out. Her words were quiet and slurred as she’d been trying to keep her lips puckered while she spoke because she knew if she messed up her makeup she’d get scolded. Luckily for her, she hadn’t messed it up and the lady who’d been piling the itchy substances onto her face walked away after smiling and saying “Sure, we have plenty of time. I’ll be back shortly.”

“I got these for you. I’m not sure what your favorite flower is, but I know your favorite color is purple, so-”

“I don’t have a favorite flower because I hate flowers because they make me-” She sneezed again and then sent him a pointed look. “Sneeze.” She finished. “And my favorite color was purple. Two years ago.”

By now he’d stopped smiling and she could tell that her words had upset him a little. She almost felt bad, but she didn’t, really, because she’d been feeling bad all day long so why shouldn’t he?

“Oh…I’m sorry. I didn’t know, love.” He mumbled sheepishly.

“Yeah, of course, you didn’t.” She rolled her eyes before pouting. He raised his brows at her odd behavior and sat the flowers down on the dresser in front of her. “Is there something you wanna say to me?” He questioned, not understanding where her attitude was coming from.

She shrugged a little, deciding not to say anything because she really, really didn’t want to get in trouble, not right before Christmas. Then, she changed her mind and narrowed her eyes. If she was going to tell him how she really felt, now was the time. “You would know all this if you were around.” She huffed. “But you haven’t been. You’ve been touring.”

“Don’t start.” He warned. “You know it’s my job to-”

“And you know that I don’t mind that it’s your job.” She cut in. “But you could take me with you sometimes. If you have to be gone all the time then the least you could do is take me with you.”

“You know I can’t do that.” He shook his head. “You’re too young, it’s too loud and crazy and dangerous for you, you’d miss out on normal schooling and you know I don’t want that, and above all else, tour is not just fun and games. It’s work, it’s a job. I would not have time to watch you-”

“You wouldn’t have time for me. I know.” She muttered.

“Anna…” He sighed. They’d had this same conversation at least a million times. She’d been begging for him to take her with her on every single tour he’d had and the answer was always the same. No. He wished he could, he’d love to travel the world with her, and with Y/N! But he couldn’t risk something going wrong. He couldn’t put them in that position. Touring was hectic and plain chaotic and he couldn’t put them through it.

“Look, we can talk about this later, okay?” He asked. “Right now, you need to focus on your play.”

“I don’t want to.” She yelled. He sent her a warning look which let her know she was treading on dangerous grounds. She didn’t take the warning and continued with her mini-tantrum. “I don’t even want to be in this stupid play! I never wanted to be in it, I hate it! I hate studying lines, I hate being back here sitting in a chair and getting makeup splattered on me, I hate this stupid costume, I hate Christmas!”

After she’d said everything she had to say, she let out a breath and looked at her dad’s face. He looked upset, angry, and confused. And maybe even…Disappointed. Of course, disappointed. She couldn’t help but hope that Santa just happened to not be watching at the moment.

“Why?” He nearly whispered. “Do you hate the play? Christmas?”

“I…” She sighed. “I don’t…Hate Christmas. Just this one. Because of the play. I don’t want to be in it. I only agreed because you said we’d get to spend time together and I knew how much you wanted me to be in it. We didn’t spend all that much time together, though. And this whole thing…I’m nervous.”

 

"You never seemed nervous before, darling." He frowned. "What changed?"

"Nothing. I've been nervous this whole time, but I am a good actress." She smiled sadly.

"I wish you would've told me sooner." He sighed.

"Are you mad?"

"No! No, not at all. I get it! Not everybody wants to be the center of attention. I just...I feel bad that you didn't tell me how you were feeling. I feel like I'm forcing you to do this and I'd never want to do that. I never meant to do that." He mumbled. "I'm so sorry."

"It's okay, daddy, really! Maybe I'll enjoy it like you thought I would! You're probably right!" She tried to comfort him. He nodded and rubbed her cheek with his thumb before sitting in the chair beside her, slumping down in it. "I hope you do enjoy it. Just remember, you judge you more than anyone else does. The audience will love you and you have no reason to be intimidated by them, even if there is a lot-"

"Well, they don't really scare me..." She drifted off. She figured she might as well be completely honest now that the truth was out. "It's you."

He was shocked, to say the least, and for a moment he just sat there with a frown on his face, his brows furrowed together and his mouth opening and closing every now and then. He didn't know how to respond. What did she mean it was him? Why was he making her nervous?

"I...I'm-Sorry?" He spluttered.

"I mean, yeah, they make me nervous too." She mumbled. "But...They aren't...You know, famous. They aren't...Harry Styles." Realization made it's way onto his face as he realized what she was saying. "You're a really good singer, and you have so many fans, and you're just so talented with everything! You've even acted before! I...I don't sing like you. I don't have the talent you have. You've won so many awards and...I guess, I just don't want to look dumb in front of you. I want you to be proud of me. You've met all kinds of talented people. I'll never be able to impress you like-"

"You stop right there." He commanded, a stern tone taking over his voice. "I will be proud of you whether you go out there and perform like you're Beyonce or you go out there and completely bomb it. I'm proud because you tried it for me. For yourself. I'm proud of you for even bothering to work on memorizing your lines and working so hard all this time despite the fact that you didn't want to do it in the first place. I'm proud that you told me the truth, even if it was a bit later than I would've liked." He told her. "You know as well as I do that I am just a person, and no amount of awards or fans or talent is going to change that. I'm no better than you or anyone else here. You will never, ever look dumb in my eyes.”

“Thanks, daddy.” She grinned.

“You’re welcome, my love.”


End file.
